Sprinkler-car.



No. 633,597. Patented Sept. 26, |899.

J. B. KfNlSON.

SPRINKLER CAB.

(Application led Nov. 15, 1898..

'(:No Nadel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 633,597. Y Paented sept. 26, 1899. 5. B. siamsw.

SPBHKLER CAR.

Application Bled Nov. 15, 1898,.

No Mmm.) 2 Smets-sheet vz, l

'UNiTnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.;

JOHN ll. KENISON,`OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERI .CAN CAR SPRINKL'ER COMPANY, OF W'OROESTER, MASSACHUSET'I@.

sPRlNiKLER-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,597, dat'eol September 26, 1.899.-

Application filed November 15., 1898. Serial No. 696,529. (No model.)

To (all whom, it may coll/cern:

Beit known that I, JOHN B. KENisoN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Sprinkler-Car, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of sprinkler-cars whichI are designed not only for sprinkling the space between the tracks upon which the cars run, but also for sprinkling or wetting down the roadway at one or both sides of such track.

The objects of my present invention are to provide a simple and efficient construction for forcing the Water through the sprinkling devices of the car under a constant pressure and to provide the sprinkler-oar with simple and efficient side sprinklers which can be easily adjusted to ihren' water to diilerent distances from the sides of the car, so as to sprinkle streets of various widths.

To these ends my invention consists of the parts and combinations of parts, as hereinai ter described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings, Figure l is a sectional View of a sprinkler-car constructed according to my invention. Fig. L is an end View of the same partially in section, and Figfi is an enlarged sectional View of the regulator which I may employ for automatically controlling the motor which drives the pump.

S prinklcr-cars constructed according to my present invent-ion have been especially designed for use on the ordinary electric street-- railways, and when thus used a sprinkler-ear constructed according To my invention com; prises a car-body, a closed tank carried thereby, a pump, an electric motor for actuating the pump, and an automatic regulator for starting and stopping the motor, so as to maintain a constant pressure in the tank.

The electric motor for actuating the pump may be included in a shunt-circuit from the trolley, and by providing lneans for automatically controlling the motor the same will be driven so as to maintain the desired pressure in the tank without requiring any attention or adjustment from the operators running the car.

The motor may be automatically controlled I by various forms of regulators; but in practice I preferably employ a movable rheostatarmwhich is connected to be actuated by a flexible diaphragm, so as to throwin or cutout suitable resistance-coils when the motor is to lbe stopped or started. A spring is preferably combined with the rheostat-arm, so as to normally hold the same in position to stop the motor or to drive the same at full speed and to prevent movement of the rheostat-arm under comparatively slight variations of pressure.

The spraying or sprinkling devices which I employ maybe of any of the ordinary or preferred constructions; but in practice I preferably provide the sprinkler-cars constructed according to my invention with perforated vertical pipes substantially at each corner of the car-body.

In practice I have found that the use of uniformly-perforated sprinkler-pipes does not insure a uniform sprinkling over the entire surface which is being Wet .doWntl1at is to say, the water which is delivered near the upper ends of the sprinkler-pi pes has to travel a greater distance from the tank, aiid as the pressure at the upper end of the sprinklerpipes is somewhat diminished by the fact that a portion of the flow or stream is diverted through the perforations along the length of the pipe the supply of water delivered near the upper end of the vertical sprinkler-pipes is apt to be less than that delivered from the perfor-ations near the lower ends of the vertical sprinkler-pipes. To overcome this defect and insure a uniform sprinkling of the roadways at the sides of the track, I propose to arrange or graduate the perforations in the vertical sprinkler-pipes, so that the upper ends of said vertical sprinkler-pipes Will be more openly perforated than the lower ends 95 thereof. This arranging or graduating of` perforations in the sprinkler-pipes may b e accomplished either by graduating the bore or diameters of the perforations,'employing larger perforations near the top of the pipe,

IOC)

' an electric motor M.

or by arranging perforations more closely together near the top of the pipe than near the bottom thereof.

In order to enable sprinkler-cars constructed according to my invention to be used with .advantage under varying conditions-that is to say,`to sprinkle roadways or streets of different Widths-I preferably combine the perforated vertical sprinkler-pipes with means for shutting off a greater or less part thereof, so that Water will be thrown to any desired distance from the sides of the car. To acacomplish this purpose, I preferably employ sleeves which fit telescopically onto the vertical sprinkler-pipes and which are connected by links to suitable levers, whereby said sleeves may be moved up and down to secure the desired adjustment. i

Referring to the drawings and in detail, A designates a car-body or any desire'd or preferred construction. Mounted or carried in thecar-body A is a closed tank B. A perforated vertical sprinkler-pipe 10 is preferably located at each corner of the car-body, and vsaid sprinkler-pipes 10 are connected to the tank B by pipes 1l. The vertical sprinkler-pipes 10, as shown most clearly in Figs. 1 and 2, are perforated somewhat more openly near their upper ends than at their lower ends, so as to insure an even distribution of water from the curbing to the track upon which the car runs. Shut-off valves 12 are located in the inlet-pipes 11 and may be operated from the platforms of the car by means of handles 14 and operating-levers 13, which are connected by suitable links to turn the inlet- Valves 12, as shown; Telescopically mounted on the upright sprinkler-pipes 10 are sleeves 15, which are connected by-links 16 toadjusting-levers 17. The adjnsting-leversl 1,7 may be pinned or fixed in any desired position, as shown in Fig. 2.

To maintain pressure in the tank B, I preferably employ an air-pump P, which may be mounted on top ofthe tank and actuated from Theelectricv motor M is preferably con' I trolled by or started and'stopped by an autov matic regulator, as R. The crank-shaft of the pump P, as illustrated', is driven from the motor M by means of a Worm and worm-wheel connected as at 19.

A trolley-arm C is mounted on top of the` car A in the ordinary manner, and leading down 'from the trolley-arm C is awire a, which forms part of a shuntcircuit including the motor M. n

The regulator Wh'ichI Apreferably employ L `for automatically controlling the -motor is valve-stem to move the rheostat-arm 22',

which is pivotally mounted in a bracket extending up from the diaphragm-casing. A

. weight 23 is adjustably mounted on the rheostat-arm 22, and in order to hold the rheostatarm 22 either in its. raised or lowered position` so that the same will not be aected by slight variations in pressure, I preferably provide the shaft of the rheostat-arm 22 with an upwardly-extending projection, to which is connected a spring 24, which is moved to 'opposite sides of the pivot of the rheostat- 20 is a rheostat-'plata having contact pieces.

or terminals for coperating with the rheostat-arm 22. The contact pieces or terminals of the plate are connected to ordinary resistance-coils, as indicated diagrainmatically by the Wires p. By means of this construc- Ation-it Will'be seen that when the pressure in the tank Il exceeds the desired limit, as deter-mined by the adjustable weight 23, the

rheostat-arm 22 Will be-raised and the resist-v ance-coilsthrown into the motor-circuit, until finally. when the rheostat -arm reaches its highest position the motor circuit will be broken and the motor stopped. 'I 'Vhen the pressure in the tank B falls below the desired point, the rheostat-arm 22 will descend, and thepump-actuating motor will be started up again.

It is-obvious, of course, that I may dispense with the connections through a rheostat and may connect a flexible diaphragm or other pressure-controlled device, so as to make and .break the motor-circuit directly; butI prefer to employ the construction herein illustrated, as it has been found in practice that' if the full strength of the motor-current is turned on ois-od the arinature or other parts of the purpose air-pipes 25 may extend tothe plat'- fo'rms of the car, where they are provided with exhaust-valvesg24, as shown in Fig. 1.

IIOl

Extending down from opposite sides of the n ltank B are filling-pipes 26, having shut-off kling devices" are adjusted to throw Water to the desired distance from the sides of the car,

and when passing vvehicles or other obstacles the supply of water to the side sp ri nkler-pipes may be shut oi't by closing the iniet-valves l2.

I am aware that changes may be made in the construction of sprinkler-cars by those- Who are skilled in' the art without departing from the scope of my invention as expressed in the claims. I do not wish, therefore, to be limited tp the forms which I have shown and described; but

WhatI do claim, and desire to secure by Letters I atent of the United States, is-

l. .In a sprinkler-car, the combination of a car-body A, a tank B carried ti1ereby,'a ven tical sprinkler-pipe l0, a pipe ll connecting;l said vertical sprinkler-pipe l0 and tank l5, a shut-Off Valve l2, connections for actuatingv said shut-oftvalve from the car-platform, a sleeve l5 tting onto the vertical sprinklerpipe so as t'o shut olf a greater or less portion of said Vertical sprinkler-pipe, andan adjust ing-lever 17 and Aconnections for adjusting the sleeve from the cai}')lal,foiin, substantiaily as described.

2. In asprinkler-car, the combination of a car-body, a tank, sprinkler-pipes connected to said tank, a pump, an electric motor for actuating the pump, and means controlled by the pressure generated by the pump for starting and stopping the motor, substantially as 3o described.

In a sprinkler-car, the'combnation of a car-bod y, a tank carried thereby, sprinkler pipes connected to said tank,an electric motor,

a rheostat-arm, and means controlled by the 35 pressure generated by the pump for shifting the rheostat-arin to start and stop said motor, substantially as described.

` ai. In a sprinkler-car, the combination of a car-body, a tank carried thereby, sprinkler` 4o pipes connected to said tank, a pump, an electric motor, a rheostat-arm, a lflexible da# phragm acted upon by the pressure in the tank connected to move the said rheostat arm, and a spring for holding,r the rheostat- 45 arm at the limits of its movement against sl i gilt variations in the pressnre,substau tially as described. f

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing 5o 

